Modern gas turbines are extremely complex and include a large number of seals to reduce leakage through various cavities and gaps, helping to control flow of the various fluids around the gas turbine. One such type of seal is the membrane seal, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,857,849, a granted patent assigned to the current applicant, shows an example of a known membrane seal. Known membrane seals such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,857,849 can provide an effective seal, but tend to have a relatively short lifetime and can often require replacing due to wear. The replacement frequency is greater when the sliding distance and pressure difference at the side of membrane is relatively high. It has therefore been appreciated that the existing designs can be further improved.